Samsung Electronics Co., the world’s top smartphone maker, saw its profitability in the smartphone business arena rise in the first quarter on the back of increased sales, data showed on Tuesday.

According to the data compiled by global investment banking house Canaccord Genuity, Samsung took 43 percent of the global smartphone industry’s profits in the January-March period, compared with the 26 percent a year earlier.

Apple Inc., the iPhone maker, maintained its status as the dominant player in the first quarter, by claiming the remaining 57 percent, but saw its share fall from a jaw-dropping 74 percent a year earlier, the data showed, implying that smartphone makers around the globe lost money or did not make money in the first quarter.

LG Electronics Inc., the world’s third-largest smartphone manufacturer, accounted for around one percent of all profits in the smartphone industry, the data showed.

The data also showed that Samsung’s mobile device operating margin stood at 22 percent in the first quarter, up from 20 percent in the previous quarter, while Apple saw its operating margin slip to 35 percent from 40 percent over the cited period, they showed.

Samsung shipped a record of 69.4 million smartphones in the first quarter, compared with 63 million in the previous quarter, according to data compiled by research firm Strategic Analysis Inc. (Yonhap News)